The top-to-bottom overhaul at Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen has the long struggling Nashville-based fast-food chain talking about expanding for the first time in years.

With a new leadership team focused on customer service and a revamped menu (including a new-and-improved fish filet), the restaurant company saw same-store sales grow in 2011 for the first time in eight years.

The momentum continued in the first quarter of 2012 as store sales grew by an average of 8.1 percent.

When Phil Greifeld took the helm at Captain D’s in September 2010, his goal was to increase the chain’s average store sales by 40 percent over the next five years.

“When I started, a focus on always doing what’s best for the guest was clearly missing from the brand culture,” Greifeld said. “They lost focus on why we are here, what are we supposed to do. … Clearly we are headed in the right direction to achieve some lofty goals at D’s.”

Captain D’s is now ready to expand. Later this year the 527-unit chain will relaunch its franchising efforts — something it hasn’t done for about six years, Greifeld said. Currently, 275 of its restaurants are company-owned.

The company expects to expand in the Southeast, though it doesn’t yet have a target number of stores per year, Greifeld said.

Greifeld attributed the boost in sales to an increase in customer traffic. He declined to say exactly how much sales grew last year at the privately held company. In 2010, the company posted $436 million in sales, according to QSR Magazine.

The chain’s turnaround efforts have included everything from menu changes (the addition of chicken items and new sandwiches in an effort to boost drive-thru traffic) to a new marketing campaign (“For the Love of D’s”) to increased hospitality training for new hires.

“It’s a concentrated effort focused on taking care of the guests,” Greifeld said. “We are making sure food is prepared fresh. We’ve improved on marketing, product development and equipment. Our guests are noticing improved products.”

Captain D’s hopped on the bandwagon of some key trends: focusing on customer service and value, said Clark Wolf, of New York-based Clark Wolf Co., a restaurant and hospitality consulting firm.

“They need to continue that. Because of the recession some of those trends are going to be around a long time,” he said. “If they really focus on the right fundamentals, they could do well.”

There are only two kinds of customers for restaurants: regulars and people you are trying to turn into regulars, Wolf said.

“The key is to continue to pay attention and keep their eye on the ball to keep those relationships,” he said.

As a whole, the restaurant industry has performed better in recent quarters, thanks to the stabilization of the economy and the unusually warm winter, said Jonathan Maze, an editor and writer for the Minnesota-based Restaurant Finance Monitor.

“Weather has a pretty big impact on restaurant sales,” Maze said. “If there is a blizzard you’re not going to go out to eat.”

The improving job market also has helped fast-food chains.

“As people work they have more money to eat out and less time to cook at home,” Maze said.

That said, Captain D’s turnaround isn’t just the product of tailwinds, Maze said.

“Their sales growth is a pretty good accomplishment,” he said. “They are obviously doing something right. A lot of restaurants just keep losing sales until they go bankrupt.”

One thing Greifeld did was shake up his leadership team, hiring a new executive vice president of operations, vice president of purchasing, vice president of product development and executive vice president of marketing.

“It’s no secret I’ve made a lot of changes since I’ve been on board at D’s,” Greifeld said about the overhaul in management. “I felt they were necessary to help me drive this brand to a higher level of execution and success. It’s one of those things as a manager of a business you have to do.”

As for the future expansion, it’s a good time to focus on franchising, Wolf said.

“People want to start businesses of their own, and it’s a proven formula,” he said.

Franchisee-owned stores also can be a testing ground for ideas.

“Many of the biggest innovations in McDonald’s came from franchise holders who said, ‘Hey, my customers keep asking about this,’ or ‘Hey, I had an idea and wanted to try it,’ ” Wolf said.

By the numbers

Captain D’s standing among fast-food chains has slipped in recent years. But the Nashville-based seafood chain reported a strong 2011.